Hellacious Hospitality Ch. 06

His gentle massages left her breast, to trail up her chest, across her delicate collarbones, and then back up her slender neck. He had his hand alongside her neck now, cradling just under her jaw. A whining moan emitted from her throat, and her glossy pink lips parted invitingly. He propped his head up, and leaned over her. So lovely and kissable. He pursed his lips.

Suddenly, her eyes shot open, and she bolted upright, head-butting him in the process.

Both sprawled sideways, reeling in pain. If she had had her horns out, that could have gone even worse.

"Ow! Caeli, what the hell?"

She laughed, while rubbing her own forehead. There was a red welt for a moment, but it soon faded. "I'm sorry, I just... I think I felt Iara calling to me. I think maybe it's about time to check in on our guest." She stood, a bit unsteady on her legs at first, but her graceful poise quickly found her as she walked towards the bathroom.

Through the open door, he could see her checking herself out in the mirror, before wetting a hand-towel to quickly clean herself off. In their activities, she hadn't gotten herself too messy, mostly just around her pelvic area. She lingered there with her towel just a bit too long, as he watched the eyelids of her reflection flutter. Satisfied, she washed her hands, and then re-tied her ponytail and tidied up her bangs a bit.

Striding back into the room, she presented him a cheeky view of her deliciously round ass, only partially hidden beneath the gauzy dark fabric of her babydoll, as she bent over to search through dresser drawers. She produced pieces of her uniform: collar, sleeves, pantyhose, skirt, bra. And then, for a brief moment, she was completely naked, her ass bouncing lightly as she happily danced about, undoing the lacy choker collar of her lingerie and shaking the garment to the floor. It was quickly replaced by her false shirt collar, before she turned to face him again, still gloriously nude otherwise.

"Caeli, is this your room?" He wondered aloud, seeing the dresser drawers full of her clothes.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"It's just that it's so plain. Ordinary. Just a normal room. You're like, the head boss here. Don't you get a presidential suite or something?" He remembered the impossible opulence of Iara's chambers. "Or, I don't know, a castle all to yourself?"

She started to put her bra on, but the disappointment that crossed his mind must have shown on his face, because she smirked and put it aside, and started pulling on her pantyhose instead.

"Guess I've just never really seen the point in customizing. I'm always been so busy, taking care of the others. So I really only come here to sleep."

Her heavy breasts swayed pendulously as she bent over to pull up her hose, and she had to squeeze them between her arms to prevent them from getting in her way. She licked her lips when she looked up, as she saw his penis grow to full length again, but she stopped herself to reach into a different drawer, procuring a towel to throw at his head.

"Go shower up. You're in no state to meet up with your friend. And take Lily with you too, she's a mess."

Obliging, he scooped up the gelatinous blob of faerie that was curled up on the nightstand. She awoke, bleary-eyed at being disturbed.

"So, speaking of sleep, still in that naughty little nightie of yours well after noon?"

"Hah! Well, if you remember our vampire conversation, most of those myths still have to come from somewhere. Many demi choose a nocturnal life. Not because we melt in the sun or anything, in case you were wondering. Just... well, humans tend to be more active during the day, so I think you can understand. So, even though night and day don't really exist proper in this place, old habits die hard, and I guess you can consider me something of a night owl."

Benson wasn't expecting that sudden gut-punch, a light reminder of how the demi were forced to live in hiding, shunned by the world at large. If only people knew the things he did. Although, humans being humans, he wasn't certain if the outcome of that knowledge could be truly good.

Carrying the towel with him, he climbed off the bed and treaded towards the bathroom, Lily in tow.

Just as he walked by her, Caeli was in the process of putting on her tight skirt. She had it around her waist, but it had rolled up in back, presenting a delicious view of her pert, hose-covered bottom, and he couldn't resist the urge to swat at it playfully.

Caeli yipped, and responded by quickly turning around, grabbing a hold of his head, and pulling it deep into her cleavage. Her pillowy softness around his face would have been heavenly, if not for how tightly she was holding him.

"Getting... hard to... breathe!" He wheezed.

She released him, laughing evilly. "Serves you right. You seem to like them so much, maybe I'll just smother you to death with them. At least then I wouldn't have to keep putting up with your trouble. Come on, don't encourage me. I'm off to see your friend, remember? We shouldn't keep her waiting any longer than she has to."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks Caeli, for keeping me occupied, before my negative thoughts spiraled totally out of control."

"Don't mention it. That's what partners are for, isn't it?"

"They're also there to call each other out on their bullshit."

She stared at him for a moment, stunned by that admonishment. "Wait, what do you mean by that?"

"I can see it in the way you carry yourself. You're usually so effortless. So here, thinking you need to keep flashing your butt or shoving your cleavage in my face to keep me interested, well that's just selling us both short. You're still scared, aren't you? Scared of what's about to happen, when Elena awakes? Just say it. I'm scared, too. I don't want to lose you either. I won't give that up without a fight."

Her eyes widened. "How did I get so lucky, to have found you?"

She rushed in to hug him tight, squashing her still-naked breasts against his own bare torso.

"Caeli..."

"I know. Just shut up and hold me. If this doesn't work out, I want to feel your warmth upon me, this one last time."

Sighing, he reached around with one arm, his other still occupied with Lily, and held the petite woman against him. As his hand found the small of her back, his mind only just grasped at something else he had failed to notice.

"Your tail, and your wings. You're hiding again."

"Yeah, I know. If you didn't realize, I vanished them after your spat with Xochitl, when you suggested that you didn't want anything to do with demi anymore. That hurt me. I felt ashamed, and rejected for what I was."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

"You've proven that to me. But it also made me realize that I've already allowed myself to become complacent, and comfortable around you. I'm now hosting another human within these walls, and that exposes us to even more danger. So, for the time being, I think I should be on my best behavior. Gods, I can't believe I let you talk me into this. I'm going to get an earful from Xo about this, I'm sure."

Hesitantly extricating herself, she returned to dressing herself. Quickly, this time, not showily after being called out on her antics. She squeezed her pale, round breasts into her bra and fastened it with the single button at the cleavage, and then slipped on her detachable sleeves. Digging into a separate drawer, she found a few simple bracelets and bangles to add a bit of loose flair to her outfit, and then walked over to the closet, to fetch a hanging tie and a pair of stiletto heels.

"So, how do I look? Ready to make a good first impression?"

"I thought you didn't believe in those?"

"Ugh, now I suddenly wish I did. Maybe I'd have more practice at it, so that the butterflies in my stomach would go away."

"You'll be fine. I'll be with you shortly. Just see to it that Iara's doing well, and I'll be there to handle introductions. Don't worry, she's going to love you. I guarantee it."

Caeli's smile sat awkwardly on her face, not quite so assured. She had never found herself so lacking in control, so bound to the whims of others before. She sighed, resigning herself to her fate.

"Alright, I'm off." She glanced to the floor, at Benson's cast-off clothing, and picked them up. "You should be presentable for your friend, too. I'll get these cleaned". Without another word, she exited the room, leaving him and the faerie to themselves.

*****

Benson began cleanup by setting up the bathroom sink for Lily's use. Just a light stream of water for a small-scale shower, and he managed to break off a small piece of the bar soap there to be more manageable for her. After a quick rinse, she spread her wings and fluttered out of the sink basin to adjust the faucet a bit. He felt embarrassed, babying her for her small stature, when it seemed she could fend for herself just fine.

Although, maybe Caeli wouldn't have appreciated finding dried globs of semen everywhere the faerie had touched, so maybe it was for the better that he had gotten her started.

As she preened herself under the gentle cascade of water, he couldn't help but ogle her taut, feminine form. She caught him staring and smiled back. All the girls here were uniquely gorgeous in their own right. He wondered if that was a potential upside of magic. If mana was the power that touched every single soul and governed the force of attraction between them, was there the corollary that those steeped in that power would be supremely attractive as a result? But then, would that mean that attractive humans perhaps had some innate, unrealized predisposition towards magic, as well? Maybe he was overthinking that a bit.

He was just glad that Caeli was understanding enough not to chastise him for that wandering eye. In fact, she encouraged him, always keen to point out how beautiful the others were. All part of the bonding process, as far as she was concerned, so it seemed. A necessary step to reconciling the demi with the outside world, in any way he could. Somehow, he felt sorry for Xochitl, locked away as she was. Not that she hadn't invited that treatment herself, by the looks of things. But even so, Elena had taught him that sometimes, it paid off to offer a second chance.

He stepped into the en suite shower stall, and began to clean himself off. It was surprisingly cramped. Fairly standard, for a hotel shower, but with the glass door closed, it wouldn't have allowed Caeli any room to stretch out her wings, unless she stood awkwardly sideways. Maybe she just bathed with Iara all the time, instead.

As he toweled off, he spotted a tiny, complementary hotel-style bottle of mouthwash, and decided to partake, the taste of the lustful succubus still on his tongue. That could have been an unbecoming conversation starter, to be able to smell that on his breath.

God, what was he even going to say to Elena? "Sorry, I let you get attacked by a magic shadowy hellbeast in the body of that jackass Crenshaw, oh, whom by they way, I killed"? With any luck, Thom had already knocked out the lights before he attacked her, so he wouldn't have to tell her anything of that nature. That felt horrible to think about as well.

He had assured Caeli that everything would be fine, but the more he thought about it, the less confident he became. So many of the game plans that he cycled through his mind required Elena being a complete idiot, which she absolutely was not. His mind was too caught on what she was like before the attack, unable to comprehend how she might respond after. Ultimately, there was no silver-tongued technique that would allow him to escape this scenario completely unscathed. He hoped Caeli would be as quick-witted as she usually was, because he was probably going to need her help on this after all.

He stepped out of the bathroom, to find his clothes neatly folded atop the dresser. He had spent only roughly fifteen minutes total in the bathroom, but like the last week's short visit to Iara, his clothes smelled freshly of detergent and were neatly pressed. God, I need to come here to do my laundry, he mused, somewhat indifferent of the situation still ahead of him.

As he got dressed, his eyes wandered about the room. It was strange. Other than her clothing that was tucked away neatly, there was nothing to signify this room was Caeli's. Everything tidy and in its place, there was no sign the room had been lived in at all. If things were as she said, that she spent little time here outside of the necessities, even that seemed a little sad. Did she really spend so much of her energies on the others that she paid that little attention to herself? Even the bare minimum, customizing the room to resemble an old, fondly-remembered homestead would have been more apropos. Not simply leaving the room in its "default" state, matched to his own sterile, impersonal recollection of what a hotel room should look like. Seeing what Iara had done with her space, he had a hard time believing that Caeli, in all her brilliance, was that uncreative. Still, he was in no place to criticize.

As he stooped down to tie his shoes, he noticed the bottom drawer of the dresser was left slightly ajar, from where she had procured a towel for him. He went to close it, when he caught the light glinting off something metal within. Curiosity got the better of him, and he fished it out. What he found turned out to be what appeared to be an old, tattered leather-bound journal, and what he'd seen was the built-in brass clasp, locked. Peering at the edges, the pages within seemed crisp and new, despite the dog-eared state of the cover. Perhaps a newer book had been rebound with the cover for sentimental purposes. Did it belong to her? Stamped into the cover, gold leaf flaking away, was a single word. "Vespera".

The sound of thrumming wing-beats sounded behind him, as Lily emerged from her bath. Benson hastily stuffed the journal or diary or whatever it was back in the drawer and shut it firmly.

"Well, shall we go? I guess you probably don't want to stay in this room alone."

The faerie nodded, and zoomed ahead. For some reason, she seemed even more enthusiastic than he was. His worries and apprehensions dulled his pace, but what reason did Lily have to be so eager? Well, whatever reason she had, he wasn't going to be cruel to her and lock her in, so he gentlemanly opened the door for her, and they exited together.

*****

They met up with Caeli outside the door to Iara's quarters. Lily was perched innocently on Benson's shoulder again, kicking her feet happily. He still didn't know why she insisted on coming. He'd expected her to flit off at some point to join her other faerie friends, possibly to brag about her first sexual encounter with a human man, but she stayed with him. Even as he urged her to leave, she rooted herself firmly to his shoulder and would not budge. She was surprisingly forceful when she wanted to be, and impossibly stubborn.

Caeli gave them a warm, but uneasy smile.

"The faerie attendants just left. I've been told that Iara has completed her task as expected. She managed to reverse all the bruising. Your friend has a hairline fracture on a rib that will take a few more sessions to heal up fully, but it's nothing that won't heal naturally, even without magical intervention. I would have liked to have finished the job properly, but I assume there will be questions if she goes missing for too long?"

"I'll say. She's my boss. And I mean, like, way up there, at the very top. We're not talking 'intern catches the flu and nobody bats an eye', we're talking 'boss doesn't show up to work, nobody signs the paychecks'. Very bad."

"Your boss? Well then, putting the moves on her was certainly bold of you, if you don't mind me saying. Weren't you worried there would be talk?"

"I told you, it wasn't like that. She's a complicated woman, and things just kinda... happened, between us. It's not like we didn't worry about those consequences, but our relationship became too valuable to the both of us to simply forget about."

"Well now I'm jealous again. She's had so much more time with you than I have."

"I'm sorry about that, I truly am. But you're a strong girl. I knew you could handle things for a while longer by yourself, but I needed to make sure Elena was in a good spot. She was in a very fragile state, when we first found each other. I'd thought we'd solved that issue early, but it turns it came right back to bite us in the ass, which is what brings us here, now."

"Well, then let's not keep her waiting. I'm nervous, but we can't just leave her in there." Caeli reached out her hand, shyly, and he grabbed a hold of it, reassuringly.

"Here goes. I'm not showing, am I?" She pointed to her back, up towards to where her wings would be, and down towards her tail.

Benson shook his head "no". "Shouldn't you have control of that?"

"I should, but I've had... accidents lately, remember. I'm just as nervous as last time. Maybe even more so, now that I know what I have to lose. Lily, you too. Get down from there."

He was surprised Caeli was permitting the faerie to come along, but at least she knew to duck behind his back, out of sight, with a bit of a huff.

The three of them entered Iara's room together. Her quarters having been designated off-limits to visitors, the entryway was empty as expected, with no clothing or shoes or other paraphernalia on the shelves or cubbyholes. They continued onward, not bothering to remove their own footwear.

Passing through the curtained doorway, there she was. She was sitting on one of the bathing benches, but slumped over, her head hanging.

"What's wrong with her?" Benson asked.

"Don't worry, just a mild sleep enchantment, to prevent her from waking at an inopportune moment. You were truthful with me, when you said she has no awareness of us demi, correct?"

"I didn't say a word. But I have no idea what to expect. She might have learned something from her attacker, so be on your toes."

Caeli smirked, somewhat nervously, looking down at her stiletto heels.

"You know what I mean."

"Sorry. I joke when I get nervous." She squeezed his hand tightly.

Benson took a good look at Elena's sleeping face. She looked so peaceful, seemingly unawares of the brutal attack that had befallen her. He sighed in relief when he saw no signs of the horrific bruising around her neck. Iara was due much thanks.

Elena's hair hung loosely over her shoulders, not tied up like how she preferred it. Her red-framed glasses hung slightly askew, an earpiece crooked and bent. There was a chip out of one of the lenses. Benson clicked his tongue. More things that would make what happened difficult to explain. It was too late now.

Just as difficult to explain would be her clothes, or moreover the fact that she wasn't wearing her own. Instead of her red and black office attire, she was garbed in a scandalously short silk robe, a soft lavender in hue.

Caeli saw the questioning look on his face, and immediately inferred his meaning, shrugging broadly. "Hey, her clothes were ruined. This was the best I could do on such short notice. She's taller than I am, and I sincerely doubt any of my tailored stuff fits."

With the way the petite succubus practically spilled out of her skimpy concierge outfit, he didn't doubt her judgment call.

"I guess it can't be helped, then. I hope she doesn't find it too weird."

"We won't find out until we ask. Are you ready? Just give sleeping beauty her wake-up kiss."

"Really?"

"Kidding. That's just the nervousness talking, again. Just draw a line down her forehead, to the tip of her nose, with a finger. That will break the sleeping seal."

Benson did as instructed, and as soon as he pulled his hand away from Elena's face, her eyes fluttered, and she began to stir.